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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a music group
  4. saw — the tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — government
  8. bulb — for light
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — a line
  14. court — of a king
  15. rash — a series
  16. court — for sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rule — a law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com